I almost lost you
by niuxen
Summary: For Tumblr drabble prompt "I almost lost you."


Bright, everything was too bright when Poe opened his eyes. A moan followed a growl coming out of his mouth when he tried to lift his hand to block out the blinding light of fluorescent.

'Mhhhh,' was all he managed to get out, looking around for some clues where the hell was he, while his eyes were trying to adjust. Also, something heavy was resting on his chest

A nurse appeared eventually. 'Don't try to talk,' she said in a low tone, as she approached his bed. 'Sorry for the light, needed to give you a shot for the pain. Everything is fine now, you're stable, get back to sleep. She fell asleep waiting for you to wake up.' She pointed to his chest.

It was when Poe finally sobered up and noticed brown hair scattered under his chin. The nurse was about to grab Rey's shoulder gently but Poe quietly protested and shook his head gently. 'Don't.'

The older lady nodded then and on her way out turned off the light again, 'Okay then, I'll come back in a couple of hours.'

Poe lay, trying to make his memory work, not being able to recall what had happened nor going back to sleep. He licked his lips, but once again grunted feeling stiffness in the left cheek. A smell of burn and sharp medicine odor reached his nostrils.

He wasn't in much pain or discomfort, so he just closed his eyes, enjoying Rey's warmth. She was sitting askew on the chair next to the bed, her head resting on his torso, face sideways away from Poe's.

Hard to tell how much time had passed when finally Poe heard the door open again. His eyelids suddenly fell so heavy but Poe managed to open them to see in dimmed light Finn and Rose on the other side of his bed.

Finn leaned over. 'Hey buddy, glad to see you awake. Do you know what happened?'

'Nuh-uh,' the pilot groaned and shifted only so slightly under Rey.

'We were fighting First Order, but your X-wing took a hit. You were able to land and evacuate, but just when you found me and Rey on the ground you noticed a bomb thrown our way.' Finn put a hand over his heart and leaned lower. 'Poe, you saved us. You tackled Rey and dragged me by the shoulder.'

Poe frowned. Finn knew him too well because he answered the unspoken question right away, 'We're fine, Rey is fine, I just dislocated my shoulder.' Finn raised his left arm in a sling.

'It's really nothing,' he brushed off and continued, ' compared to you. But don't worry! No limbs lost, however a concussion and some second-degree burns.'

Then Rose spoke up, squeezing Poe's right hand and he squeezed back, 'The bomb didn't reach you directly, but you had fuel on part of your face and clothes because of your X-wing hit. Don't worry, really, General ordered for the best doctors in the Resistance, they'll fix you in no time.'

Poe sighed as deep as his lungs allowed him to and nodded, mouthing 'Thank You'.

'Do you want me to wake her up?' Rose asked, pointing at Rey.

'Nuh-uh,' Poe repeated and revealed ghost of a smile.

Finn shook slightly with laughter, 'What do you know.'

'We'll come back in the morning,' Rose reassured and grabbed Finn's arm, causing him to hiss slightly. 'Sorry.'

Poe tried once more to calm his train of thoughts and get a bit of sleep. The room was dark and quiet, and even the hospital bed seemed okay when he felt this small ball of warmth pressure lightly on his abdomen. If he wasn't beat up by the blast and numb from painkillers he could say the circumstances were pretty nice actually.

Sleep finally came.

By the next time Poe woke up it wasn't due to pain nor nightmares. A curtain of familiar, brown hair was surrounding his face, a warmness smoldering the side of his temple… a shadow of lips.

Rey was standing above him, eyes wide open when she noticed Poe had woken up.

'I'm sorry, did I wake you?' she apologized and backed off. 'Are you in pain? I'll call for a nurse.'

'No and no,' Poe replied slowly, smiling at her widely. She had the green, resistance uniform on her and her three buns were missing. Damn it, how much he loved when she let down her hair. 'Are you okay?'

Rey smiled. Always the Resistance first. 'Yeah, we're fine, the Resistance is regrouping as we speak.'

'You. Are you okay?' he repeated and swallowed with some difficulty.

'Me?' she asked, confused as if it was the last thing on her mind right now. Noticing his dry mouth, she jumped to the table for a glass. 'I'm more than fine,' she admitted while pouring water then walked back to his side. 'Thanks to you.'

'Pleasure,' Poe managed to say and grinned before Rey lifted gently his head to help him take a sip.

Rey shook her head. 'This is not funny, we could have lost you. We've lost enough already,' she whispered, her voice breaking just for a tiny split of a second.

Only a sigh left Poe's lungs. Each battle took lives, each one left a breach in the heart of Rebellion.

Rey's mind must have followed the same thought, a heartbroken expression holding her features. Then Poe felt her right palm close over his left hand, fingers intertwining.

'I almost lost you,' she admitted, stressing the first word, watching closely for Poe's reaction.

They had been friends sometime now and Poe discovered his feelings for the young Jedi a while back now, but only now Rey showed a more resolute act of her own than giving him curious looks or laughing harder than necessary at his jokes. Knowing Rey's determination about becoming a Jedi, he never dared to fool with her or give himself hope. However, that same, exact hope bubbled up in his chest in that moment.

He moved their connected hands to his lips and kissed the back of Rey's palm.

Rey smiled for the first time since the bomb accident.

'I…' Poe started, but couldn't help a small yawn coming. He was still so exhausted.

'I know,' Rey interrupted and squeezed his hand back. 'Later.'

He nodded and closed eyes, kissing her hand once more, 'Later.'


End file.
